


Untitled

by OpalizedFossil



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Jasper Redemption, post-corruption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-20
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-10-08 06:11:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10380210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpalizedFossil/pseuds/OpalizedFossil
Summary: Post-Corruption, Steven and Connie invite Jasper out for a day on the boardwalk. She does her best.





	

**Author's Note:**

> An anonymous request from Tumblr!

Jasper was forbidden to leave the immediate area around the barn while she was corrupted. She was too large, too strong, too completely and utterly frightening to be elsewhere. It was either the tight confines of the little beach house attached to the temple, or the more open barnyard and her favorite pile of hay within the aging structure, newly renovated by its older residents. Initially, Jasper had been less than welcome, even there, but, with time, Peridot and, more reluctantly, Lapis came to accept her.

Corruption had stalled her mind, in a sense. She had behaved as little more than an animal, feral but free, better than bubbled when she was allowed to roam the cornfields, rummaging through the tall stalks, playing ever so gently with "Pumpkin," the resident pet. Sometimes, she would chase the little creature through the corn. Other times, it would chase her. All was well for her, for once, even when she was at what should have been her worst, humiliated, stripped of her status, her power, her pride, quite literally everything she had ever had to her proud name. This was the best she had ever been - which silently spoke volumes about what the past must have held for her.

But, now, she was even better, better than a corrupted beast who chased animated pumpkins and uprooted cornfields and chewed through carefully orchestrated sprinkler systems. She was better because she was reformed. She was healed, too, but the reformation had felt even better. The redemption had felt even better. And while in the back of her mind, she was certain that it was because whatever remained of Rose Quartz had convinced her to feel like less of a failure when she so blatantly was and always had been, she was somehow content to embrace that part of herself now. At least the Crystal Gems found it in themselves to love her when no one on Homeworld ever had, not in such an intimate and personal way.

With her new resolve comes newfound freedom, not only from the iron fists of Homeworld and the Diamond Authority, but from the strict confines of the barn.

Today, Steven comes in with a friend. Jasper recognizes her from the time when she was corrupted. Steven's friend had been a friend to her, too, and that hasn't changed, she decides as she rises from what is still her favorite hay pile to greet them, waving a palm that is still slightly swollen and discolored, flecked greenish teal with lingering corruption.

"Hello, Ro - Steven," Jasper catches herself swiftly. She's known him for some time now, known that he isn't the ferocious commander she once knew long ago, but she still slips up occasionally.

"Hi, Jasper!" Steven chirps cheerfully, then gestures to his companion, who wears a comfortable sundress and carries a tote, "This is Connie. You remember her, right?"

Jasper nods. "Connie. The swordfighter."

"Or Connie, our friend," Steven tells her very gently, to which Jasper only meekly nods. Don't associate everything and everyone with violence and conflict, she reminds herself.

"Connie and me are heading to the boardwalk today! Dad's driving us! Do you wanna come?" Steven asks her unexpectedly.  
Jasper blinks at him. "What's a boardwalk?"

"Oh! It's a place where humans go to hang out! There's lots to do, lots to see, lots to eat...you might like it!" Steven tries to explain. Jasper is still largely unfamiliar with the concept of eating, and even more unfamiliar with the concept of "hanging out," but she's never been one to step away from a challenge.

Jasper nods. "I'll come."

Steven is surprised at how willingly she agrees. "You sure you're ready? Remember, if something makes you uncomfortable..."

"We can stop and come home," Jasper finishes, having heard this many times before by now.

"Good!" Steven praises her, then gestures for her to follow as he leaves the barn. Outside, a familiar van is idling in the dusty drive, stuttering quietly. Jasper remembers Greg. He accompanied Steven on his visits to see her quite frequently, mostly because he had to drive him the considerable distance from the temple to the barn. She nods to him as she passes him by, climbing as gently as she can into the back of the van when Steven opens the rear doors for her. No matter how lightly she treads, the aging automobile still creaks beneath her weight, slightly closer to the ground than it was before she entered.

"Hey, Jasper," Greg says politely as he watches her in the rearview mirror, while Steven and Connie climb into the van and fasten their seatbelts, "How've you been?"

"Better," Jasper grunts agreeably, sitting politely cross-legged among the personal belongings still scattered in the back of Greg's van. He had had to clear them out considerably for the occasional car ride while she was still corrupted several months prior, before the healing process began. He's a little afraid to tell her how unreasonably excited she was about the prospect of riding in the van back then, or how he had to have a window frame repaired after she stubbornly shoved her entire head through it, then mutilated it in a moment of panic when she realized she was stuck moments later.

"Good to hear!" Greg tells her, then looks at Steven warily, "To the boardwalk, then?"

"To the boardwalk!" Steven replies enthusiastically, as if he hasn't visited the very place they're going nearly everyday of his life since birth.

So begins the car ride to the boardwalk, which takes a considerable thirty minutes. Steven is as chatty as ever, but Greg and Connie are quieter than usual. Jasper's presence hangs heavily over the atmosphere, but she, too, is quiet, uncertain of what she should say. She's silent unless Steven addresses her, sitting stiffly - like a soldier. Greg has grown used to this sort of strange over the years; at least she doesn't seem to mind his music as much as some of his previous passengers have, only raising an eyebrow when the radio starts to play.

When the van arrives at the car wash, Steven and Connie exit through the side doors, then come around to the back to free Jasper from the cramped confines of the vehicle cabin. She climbs out with as much care as she can manage, ever mindful that a touch even slightly too rough could morph metal.

Immediately, she's absorbed in the sights, sounds, and smells around her, her senses in overdrive as she adjusts to her new environment. She hasn't seen much besides the backs of the barn doors and the cornfields for months now, her recovery tediously slow, and even a slight change of pace feels entirely overwhelming - but, she isn't willing to admit it. Not yet.

She recognizes the place, if only vaguely, from the time when she came ashore on her own corrupted beast, startling people from their lounge chairs on the beach as she waged petty war with Steven and Amethyst. Connie had been there, too, she recalls distantly. The Lion, too.

"Hey, you okay?" Steven prompts as he watches her warily from several feet away, her pupils visibly dilated even from this distance, "We can go home if you're - "

"I'm fine," Jasper dismisses him quickly. Steven and Connie exchange a glance, quietly concerned, but decide not to push her.

"If you're sure," Steven says, offering her the same soft smile that slowly won her over throughout the past few months. He gestures quietly for her to follow as he and Connie leave the car wash behind, saying goodbye to Greg as they pass him by. Jasper nods to him politely as she walks by, following along behind the two children with slow, deliberate steps, careful to not tread on their heels. For her, everything seems slow and deliberate now. She's become all too aware of her own strength, of how easily her hands could deal harm. And for once, that isn't what she wants.

The Beach City locals are well-accustomed to the weird and the wild, with their frequent encounters with the Crystal Gems and the occasional feral monster or seemingly supernatural disaster, including the ship that Jasper herself had initially come here on. But, as she trails behind her unlikely companions, she becomes distantly aware of the stares directed at her, meeting them with a gentle glare that sends most of the startled onlookers scrambling.

One of them doesn't scramble. It doesn't even look away. It simply continues to stare, black irises fixated on her from a misshapen face, tucked beneath a tuft of blondish hair. How it stares at her so relentlessly, completely unfazed, not even vaguely intimidated, unnerves her. From a glance, she isn't even sure what it is; it doesn't look like the other humans she's seen, not at all. It's small, even smaller than Steven and Connie, and more closely resembles the bulbs she's unearthed in the barn's many gardens and vegetable beds.

"Uh, Jasper?" Steven prompts. Jasper blinks, suddenly acutely aware that she had been having a solid stare down with the strange human-creature. "You, uh, okay there?"

"I'm fine," she grunts passively, but had she not been in public, she might have shuddered. For a human - especially such a seemingly young one - to be so unafraid of her was unheard of. She didn't like it.  
Steven looks at the human-creature stationed on the corner, then motions it over. It crosses the street nonchalantly, still fixated on the towering, coppery alien before them.

"Hi, Onion!" Steven chirps cheerfully, "So, uh, I see you've noticed Jasper. She's new here. Say hello."

The human-creature waves. Jasper grunts disinterestedly, but it isn't fazed.

"Now you say hello back, Jasper," Connie suggests helpfully, to which Jasper glances down at her own oversized hand, nearly larger than the little human-creature itself, and wills it to shake to and fro slightly, in her own awkward, oversized semblance of a wave.

"Hello," she tells it.

Onion, as Steven called it, looks satisfied. Steven smiles. "Great, now you both know each other!"

Jasper looks down at him. "And?"

"And that means you met someone new today!" Steven informs her, beaming brightly. Apparently, this is a good thing, so Jasper nods as if she understands and tries her best to smile, but it's still an awkward thing for her, her lips stretching around terrifying teeth in a gesture that looks more like a snarl than a smile.

But, Onion doesn't seem to mind, mimicking her toothy grin before it - he? - scurries away very suddenly, startling her. She waits for him to vanish into the distance before she looks at Steven inquisitively, arching a bushy brow. "What was that?"

"That's a question I don't have an answer to," Steven tells her, then moves along quickly, "C'mon, let's see if we can find any more new friends for you!"

A chill of dread prickles Jasper's coppery skin, but she follows him obediently, surprised when she glances over and sees Connie walking alongside her. The entire time, she's been eerily quiet. Jasper doesn't remember if she's merely shy, or if it's because she's still afraid of her from their previous encounters. Steven has never said, and much of Jasper knows is based on what he says. But, she decides in that moment that she wants Connie to like her, and she has to make an effort to help her feel more comfortable around her.

Jasper glances down at her. "I...like your...helmet..." It comes out more like a question than a statement.

Connie looks at her curiously. "My helmet?"

Jasper points to the strange, soft thing she's wearing on her head. She doesn't imagine that it would be terribly useful as a helmet, with how soft and flimsy it is, but she doesn't know what else it could be.  
"Oh! It isn't a helmet, it's a hat," Connie tells her, still absentmindedly following along behind Steven as she reaches to touch it, "It keeps the sun off my face, so I don't get sunburned!"

"Sun...burned?" Jasper doesn't know what that means, but it sounds wholly unpleasant.

"It's what happens when humans are exposed to the sunlight for too long. Our skin burns," Connie explains, "but, don't worry! I don't think it can happen to gems!"

"Good to know," Jasper replies. It sounds more sarcastic than she intends. It is good to know. But, she doesn't have time to linger on how she said it, because Steven has led them to what must be their next destination.

"This is the Funland Arcade!" Steven announces proudly, "This place is lots of fun! It might be a bit too much for your first time out, Jasper, but we'll have to come back sometime!"

"I can handle it," Jasper tells him.

Steven hasn't had good experiences with bringing gems into the arcade, so he quickly tries to deter her, but it's no use. She's already walking inside, where she's promptly greeted with the sight of a human wrangling miserably with what seems to be a large machine, the screen black and the lengthy cord trailing along behind it as he tries and fails to drag it across the carpet.

"Mr. Smiley!" Steven calls as he comes in, "Do you need help? That looks heavy!"

The man's back goes straight suddenly. He whirls around to face them, and Jasper sees something like panic in his eyes. "Steven! Oh, no, that won't be necessary!"

"Are you sure?" Steven asks. But, before Mr. Smiley has time to answer, Jasper steps past him, carefully picking up the machine.

She looks at the human, whose mouth is hanging open stupidly, his eyes wide. "Where should I put it?"

"Oh! Uh, right over here," Mr. Smiley tells her as soon as he's free from his stupor, motioning her over to where he wants the machine. Jasper follows him there, lifting the thousand-pound machine as easily as he would a broomstick, then sets it down with care.

"Is this good?" she asks him.

"Perfect!" Mr. Smiley beams, "Wow! That was really something!"

Jasper blinks at him. "It was...nothing."

Steven decides that now is the time to remove her from the premises before she gets too curious and inevitably breaks something, so he reaches for her hand and starts to lead her away. "Thanks for helping, Jasper! Now, c'mon, let's go see something else! You're welcome, Mr. Smiley!"  
Mr. Smiley waves at them as Steven and Connie corral Jasper a safe distance from the arcade, back onto the boardwalk.

"Where to now, Steven?" Connie wants to know.

"Uh...," Steven trails off as he looks around, in search of somewhere both entertaining and as Jasper-friendly as possible. She's been excellent so far, but he knows that she must be nervous on the inside, even if she refuses to show it. He can tell from how she carries herself that she's overwhelmed, and he doesn't want her to feel afraid.

His eye catches on something in a shop window and, grinning, he hurries off. "Wait here! I'll be right back!"

"Okay!" Connie calls after him, but he's already out of earshot. She watches where he goes, then raises a brow curiously. "The tee shirt shop? What's he doing in there?"

Suddenly, an enormous shadow comes over her. She looks over at Jasper, who has abruptly moved to stand beside her.

"Are you okay?" she asks.

"Fine," Jasper replies, then glances away quickly, "Just didn't want you to get...sun...burned..."

"Oh! Thank you!"

"You're...welcome." Jasper tries her smile once more, and Connie can't resist a laugh. To have been among their most dangerous and threatening enemies this time last year, Jasper has turned out to be an enormous doof.

Steven scurries back to them, clutching a plastic shopping bag and grinning eagerly. Connie knows he's up to no good. "I'm back!"

"We saw," Jasper tells him.

"What's in the bag?" Connie asks, then frowns at herself, "Sorry. That's none of my business."

"It's a gift for Jasper!" Steven announces proudly, procuring an article of clothing from the plastic bag and holding it up, sleeve-to-sleeve, for them to see. It's a simple, pink tee shirt, emblazoned with the words Professional Beach Hunk.

Jasper doesn't get it, but Connie snorts with laughter.

"This was the biggest size they had," Steven tells them, "I hope it fits."

Jasper doesn't understand what the shirt means, or even that it's a shirt, but she does understand the sentiment, taking it gently when Steven offers it to her, as gently as she would handle Pumpkin or anything else equally as delicate and vulnerable. It's a gift. She holds it to her chest in a rare show of emotion, then tries her smile again. Except this time, she isn't trying. It comes naturally, and it's much sweeter than that terrible, toothy grin.

"Wow, thanks," Jasper says, and she means it. Peridot taught her this, the first time she gave her a gift. It had been a blanket, for her to lie on or cover up with in her hay pile, back when she was corrupted.

"Put it on!" Connie giggles, "Here, like this!"

Several minutes of struggling and shoving later, Jasper has managed to squeeze into the tee shirt. It's a tight fit, hugging her barrel torso tightly, and Steven immediately realizes that he needs to cut the sleeves off as soon as he can, before her bulging biceps burst right out of them. But, what's more important to him is that she likes it.

Jasper's mood seems to lighten after he helps her into the shirt, so he decides to take her a few more places before he calls it a day. Her first adventure into town has gone surprisingly well, even with her tendency to glare when she catches people innocently staring at her, or her slightly more obnoxious habit of simply lifting things in their path out of her way. For a more efficient route, she had told him, and he couldn't find it in his heart to tell her it didn't matter when she was so determined to help.

One more stop before he led Jasper and Connie back to the car wash.

"Anybody hungry?" he asks.

"Sure!" Connie replies enthusiastically, "Where should we eat?"

As well as she's done so far, Steven thinks it ill-advised to have Jasper inside a restaurant, especially with the dinner rush on the horizon. So, he answers quickly, "How about fries?"

"Sounds great!" Connie agrees, "Jasper?"

"What are fries?"

"You'll see when we get there!" Steven tells her before Connie can explain, "It's easier to just show you."

The fry shop is a short walk away. Connie orders first, then steps back while Steven orders his favorite. Without thinking, he slams his forearms down on the front counter as he demands "the bits," forgetting momentarily that Jasper believes everything he does is wholeheartedly acceptable and immediately realizing the error of his well-intentioned actions.

Fortunately, Greg had the money to both live comfortably and pay for the frequent damages caused by the Crystal Gems, now including the front counter and entire front wall of the fry shop.


End file.
